Antimicrobial resistance trends among canine Escherichia coli isolates obtained from clinical samples in the northeastern USA, 2004-2011

Our objectives were to describe the antimicrobial susceptibility of Escherichia coli isolates from dogs in the northeastern USA and to identify temporal trends in resistance to selected antimicrobial agents. Data were collected retrospectively for all canine E. coli isolates from clinical samples submitted to Cornell University's Animal Health Diagnostic Center between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2011. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed on 3519 canine E. coli isolates; frequency of resistance to each agent ranged from 0.4% (amikacin) to 34.3% (ampicillin). No trends were evident among urinary isolates, but cephalosporin resistance remained consistently high. Among non-urinary isolates, there was evidence of a significantly increasing trend in prevalence of resistance to several agents, including cephalosporins, enrofloxacin, and tetracycline. These data suggest that some of the most commonly used antimicrobial agents in companion animal practice are becoming less effective against canine E. coli infections outside the urinary tract.